UNESCO Center

As part of its Summer Schools program, Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University has welcomed its twelfth group of international students, postgraduate researchers, and faculty members for the current academic year.

The “Summer Schools” project for partner universities — primarily international — has been implemented by Russia’s oldest technical university since 2018. This summer, it brought together a record number of participants. More than 2,000 students and postgraduate researchers are taking part in the educational program in the city on the Neva, including participants from Donbas, Belarus, China, India, Iran, and several countries across Africa and Latin America.

Two groups of students and postgraduate researchers from the Indian Institutes of Technology in Kharagpur and Dhanbad completed a short-term training program at Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University as part of the international summer schools. The academic programs focused on current trends in the oil and gas industry and petroleum geology. The classes were organized by the Department of Petroleum and Gas Geology and conducted in English.

The conference “Responsibility of Global Leaders in Mineral Reserves and Extraction for the Sustainable Development of the Global Economy” brought together representatives of regulatory authorities from the Russian Federation and several African countries, companies in the mineral resource sector, as well as specialized educational and public organizations.

Domestic expertise in the field of efficient subsoil use will contribute to strengthening the technological sovereignty of the continent. Participants of the one-year full-time professional retraining program “Management of Subsoil Use Facilities” will include employees of resource extraction companies, government authorities, and universities from Africa. Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University has launched the selection process for the program.

When the scientists of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University planned their two-month trip to the People’s Republic of China, they understood that although the primary objective was scientific research, the visit would be incomplete without exploring innovative enterprises and industrial sites. Bridging the gap between fundamental science and production is a crucial prerequisite for economic development through technology transfer—something well understood in China.

In early May, 16 first- and second-year students from Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University became the first in Russia to complete a scientific internship in Iran. Shiraz University organized a lecture course on cybersecurity for the future specialists, and professors from the university discussed scientific projects with the young St. Petersburg students, some of which have already begun or are planned for international collaboration.

Young scientists from St. Petersburg have been interning in the People’s Republic of China for over a month. In addition to conducting joint research with colleagues from Taiyuan University of Technology (TYUT), they continue to intensively explore the country’s manufacturing sector by visiting landmark enterprises and industrial sites. Next on the list is TZCO, one of the largest factories in the country for the production of mining and construction equipment.

Iran and Russia share a similar aspiration — to actively develop science and industry under the conditions of Western sanctions. However, the Islamic Republic has significantly more experience, given its 44 years of living under restrictions and without access to advanced foreign technologies. Russia and Iran are now working together on promising projects, with the collaboration between Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University and Shiraz University playing a special role in this process.

Students of the first and second years at Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University became the first in Russia to complete an in-person scientific internship at Shiraz University in Iran, conducted in English.